Systematic review and meta-analysis in anatomic pathology: the value of nuclear DNA content in predicting progression in low grade CIN, the significance of the histological subtype on prognosis in cervical carcinoma

Abstract

Meta-analysis, though increasingly popular in clinical medicine, has not found acceptance in anatomic pathology. This paper argues that, in combination with a systematic review of the literature, meta-analysis may be usefully applied to pathological research and two examples drawn from gynaecological pathology (the value of nuclear DNA quantitation in predicting progression in low grade cervical intraepithelia1 neoplasia and the difference in prognosis between squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the cervix) are included to illustrate the methods used and to demonstrate some of the difficulties associated with these techniques.